Micro Three-Point Bend Testing for Microelectronics

Reliability analysis of electronic packages and components is a critical step in microelectronics, as these packages are widely used in portable devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc. Studying electrical performance may not be enough, as a package’s mechanical characterization can directly or indirectly impact reliability of a finished product.

Three-point bend tests are performed to understand the strength of chip packages, such as chip-on-film (COF), integrated circuits (IC), and ball grid arrays (BGAs). Applications range from evaluating the strength of the component itself to characterizing the bond strength of the chip/die attached to the substrate, such as bond strength of the underfill adhesive or other conductive adhesives between the die and substrate. In cases where chip strength needs to be examined independently, experts look to study the underside of the chip; therefore, tests are performed face up and also face down. Data has been presented in past literature on face down chips indicating that they have a higher fracture strength when compared to chips that are tested facing upwards.

Instron offers a micro three-point bend test solution with fixtures designed to perform accurate testing on a variety of packages. For applications where the die is bonded to a flexible substrate or rigid PCB, different size bend fixtures can be used to perform the test.

Newly released Bluehill® Universal Software with Operator Dashboard provides a user-friendly approach to setting up test methods and recording results, such as force to break, flexural strength, etc. Bluehill Universal offers the ability to account for possible system compliance prior to running a test. Eliminating system variance provides operators the confidence that their test data is accurate when determining stress concentrations of electronic packages in localized regions. The results will only represent the deflection of the component.